Piqua man sentenced to three years in prison

Skaggs attempted to make meth in Gatorade bottle in park

By Melanie Yingst - Miami Valley Today

MIAMI COUNTY — A Piqua man was sentenced to serve three years in prison for second-degree felony manufacturing methamphetamine in a Miami County park last August.

Skaggs, 21, of Piqua, was sentenced in Miami County Common Pleas Court by Judge Stacy Wall. Skaggs entered a guilty plea to the second-degree felony as well as a third-degree felony illegal assembly of chemicals in prior court proceedings. The two felonies merged for sentencing.

Judge Wall said the sentencing was “extremely difficult” due to the mandatory minimum sentence of three years. Skaggs did not have a felony record prior to the incident.

Skaggs said he started rehab after his arrest and said he was a changed person. He told Judge Wall he had been using meth for approximately two months prior to his arrest. Wall noted Skaggs’s attendance with Miami County Recovery Council of 82 appointments and commended the “positive path” Skaggs had been taking since his arrest.

“You are on the right path,” she told Skaggs.

Judge Wall noted the sentence was mandatory for the court to impose prior to sentencing Skaggs to the minimum three years. She did not suspend his driver’s licence.

Skaggs was ordered to pay $150 in lab fees to Miami County Sheriff’s Office.

On Aug. 5, a deputy responded to a car fire at Garbry Big Woods park in the 6700 block of Casstown-Sidney Road in Brown Twp. The deputy located Skaggs walking down the road.

Deputies located Skaggs’ car with fire damage to the driver’s side area. Deputies noted a strong chemical smell coming from the vehicle.

Deputies recovered lithium batteries, a melted Gatorade bottle, Drano and coffee filters. Those items indicated Skaggs was manufacturing methamphetamine. It appeared the bottle exploded, causing the car to catch fire. Skaggs suffered burns from the explosion and left the scene.

Smock was indicted by a grand jury for first-degree felony rape of a minor last September. In a change of plea hearing, Kollin said he had attempted to explain to Smock the consequences of the change of plea hearing and requested a motion for competency to be filed. Judge Jeannine Pratt granted the motion. Miami County Assistant Prosecutor Paul Watkins did not object to the motion.

According to the Miami County Sheriff’s Office, the victim was a child under the age of 13 years old.